Client: “My printer keeps printing junk.”
Me: “You have to turn off the computer and the printer, then turn on the computer first.”
Client: “Okay.”
*pause*
Client: “It’s still wrong.”
Me: “Did you restart the computer first?”
Client: “No.”
Me: “Why not?”
Client: “The computer is too far away. It saves time if I just turn the printer off and on.”
Me: “That won’t fix the problem.”
Client: “I don’t see why not. I don’t have time to go back and forth.”
(We go through the procedure several times, with the client short cutting the directions each time.)
Me: “Okay, I think I know what to do. There is bad data in your cable.”
Client: “Oh. How do I get it out?”
Me: “First, turn everything off. Then disconnect the cable.”
Client: “Okay.”
Me: “Lay the cable out in the hall. Then pick up one end and shake the cable two or three times. Shake it very hard.”
Client: “Just a minute.”
(Time passes with strange noises coming through the phone. The client comes back on out of breath.)
Client: “OK, I did it.”
Me: “Good. Now reconnect the cable to the printer and then connect it to the computer. Then turn everything on.”
Client: “That did it! Thanks!”
(About a year later, one of our trainers called to tell a funny story about the client who insisted on shaking the cable whenever the printer messed up. She said it was, ‘To get rid of the bad data’. I kept my mouth shut.)
